Despite a court-ordered freeze on his bank accounts, which seems to bolster the corruption allegations against him, Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay on Sunday said he would run for president next year because it would be risky to entrust the Philippines to leaders “without experience and competence.”
It was a clear dig at Sen. Grace Poe, whose popularity with voters has put her at the head of the Aquino administration’s search for a presidential candidate in next year’s elections.
President Aquino and Poe met two weeks ago to discuss the senator’s role in the elections. On Saturday, Poe, who topped the 2013 senatorial election, said she was looking up to the President for guidance in her role in shaping the future of the Philippines.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Binay said he wanted to “bring experience and competence” to the national leadership.
‘Risky’
Binay said it would be “risky to entrust the next government to those without experience and competence [because] it would perpetuate the problems besetting the country today.”
“I sincerely believe that the issue in this coming election—for the presidency particularly—is experience and competence,” Binay said.
Escudero does not agree
Commenting on Binay’s statement, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said he did not agree with the Vice President.
Escudero said he believed the issue in the 2016 election would be “honesty, integrity, fairness, the ability to know and do what is right and what is in the best interest of our country and people, sans personal, familial or other ties, as well as the ability to inspire and unite our people to do what is right and to help [the] government achieve its goals.”
Plunder charges
Binay is facing possible plunder charges in the Office of the Ombudsman, which is investigating allegations of corruption in Makati during his tenure as mayor of the city.
A Senate blue ribbon subcommittee is also investigating the corruption allegations against the Vice President.
Binay has denied the allegations, including an Anti-Money Laundering Council report that he had 18 bank accounts containing hundreds of millions of pesos that the council suspects came from illegal activities.
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